Interview with fabulous Alissa Baxter author of The Blog Affair

I’d like to welcome Alissa Baxter, a Decadent Publishing sister who lives on the same continent as me. Yay, Africa! Alissa’s brand new romance, The Blog Affair has been released under the Ubuntu line and I’m almost as excited about it as she is.

Thanks so much for welcoming me to your blog, Nana!

It’s great to have you here. Tell us a little about yourself.

I’m married and have a 19 month old toddler boy and another baby boy on the way, so I’ll soon be the only female in a household of males! I’ve written two Regency romances, and two modern day chick lit stories, set in South Africa, and I love the challenge of writing creatively. I also work in Corporate Communications in a freelance capacity, so I have a lot of different things to juggle on a daily basis. It’s great to be busy, though.

What do you like to do for fun?

Like most writers, I’ve always got my nose buried in a book when I have a free moment. I enjoy exercising (either walking or running) and meeting up with friends for a cup of coffee. It goes without saying that spending time with my husband and son is lots of fun J

A two part question. What is most and least favorite thing about living in South Africa?

The best part of living in South Africa is the outdoor lifestyle and our rich diversity of people and landscapes. The worst part is that I love travelling and it’s so far from some of my favourite destinations.

Being at the southern most country in Africa, I’d say it’s far. I love food. Which of the traditional South African dishes would you be able to eat everyday for one week and not get tired of it?

That would have to be milk tart! Here’s a link to a recipe for this delicious South African dessert: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/south-african-melktert-milk-tart/

Looks Yummy. Thanks for the recipe link. What made you become a writer?

I first decided that I wanted to be a writer when I learned to read properly at the age of seven. It was very clear cut in my mind – I knew specifically that I wanted to write stories.

The best part is that you followed through with it. In The Blog Affair, your heroine is a blogger and so are you. Is this a coincidence?

Actually, I took up blogging only after I’d finished writing The Blog Affair. I researched various blogs, and looked at how to set one up when I was writing The Blog Affair, but didn’t start writing a blog until quite recently. Also the blog I write isn’t anonymous, while Emma’s blog in the book is, and writing anonymously it’s quite a different kettle of fish from the kind of blogging that I do.

I’d think you could get away with saying more of what’s on your mind as an anonymous blogger. Which actress would you choose to play you in a movie?

I think Anna Hathaway is a brilliant actress so I’d probably choose her.

It’s like she can’t lose with her movies. Please give an analogy of what writing is like for you.

Writing is a journey of self-discovery as ultimately all your characters are a product of your own imagination. It’s endlessly challenging.

Thank you for stopping by.

Thank you, Nana! It’s been great being here.

BLURB:

Twenty-something, white, South African Emma Bradshaw has a pattern of falling for unsuitable men and starts a blog about these so-called “serial datists”. Her search for new beginnings takes her to Cape Town, where she gets a job working for sexy author, Nick Reynolds. Romance with her boss is a no-no, but slowly, Nick works his way around her defenses. Trust him, or not, especially with her awful track record with men?

When an anonymous male reader of the blog challenges her on her ideas about the male species, Emma realises she must confront her past and find her true self before she can move forward...and love can blossom again in her future.

Buy links:

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/18PXh1c

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1fY6J6Y

Excerpt:

     Damn him. Damn him. Damn him. Like a bad apple, he just had to pop up in her new home. She’d left Durban to escape him, and here he was, back again, tormenting her as ever. Awful enough that memories of him were with her all the time, without him turning up in the flesh. And what flesh it was….

“You had a good time in Italy?” she inquired.

Phil nodded.

“Great. Well, I have things to do. Bye.”

“Running away, Em?”

Emma, who had starting walking toward the door, stopped in her tracks and turned around. “I’ve moved on, Phil.”

“You mean you’ve moved away. You haven’t moved on.”

“What makes you so sure?”

Phil gazed into her eyes before looking down at her mouth, and Emma swallowed hard. He always made her insides twist into knots, and the fact she couldn’t bear to be in the same room with him for even five minutes clearly showed she hadn’t moved on.

She had to put him behind her, though, and stop allowing him to upset her equilibrium to the degree he did.

But as she studied his once-loved face, she let out a tiny sigh. How did you just move on and forget someone? Especially when you’d once believed that someone was the love of your life?

She stood immobile for a long moment. Then, without a word, she turned around again and walked out of the room.

Biography:

Alissa Baxter was born in South Africa, and grew up with her nose in a book on a poultry and cattle farm. After school and university, where she majored in Political Science and French, she published her first novel, The Dashing Debutante. Alissa travelled to London, England, and did an odd assortment of jobs while researching her second novel, Lord Fenmore’s Wager, which she wrote after she moved back to South Africa and settled in Durban. Alissa then relocated to Cape Town where she wrote her third novel, Send and Receive, before moving to Johannesburg, where she currently lives with her husband and son.

Contact Links:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/alissa.baxter.writer

Twitter: https://twitter.com/alissa_baxter

Blog: http://alissabaxter.blogspot.com

Good Reads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1146980.Alissa_Baxter

Website: www.alissabaxter.com